India became a Republic in 1950.

Since then the country has retained its democratic character with free and fair elections. It has also remained a Constitutional Republic - the central and state govts, notwithstanding all their foibles, have mosty adhered to the Constitution

However there remain considerable stresses in the country which we cannot take for granted. And these stresses emanate from both the Left and the Right. From traditionalists as well as the “subalterns” - none of whom seem too happy with the current constitutional status-quo

Let’s study these stresses in the Indian body-politic.

There are three principal ones, which we can examine separately.

Stress 1 : There is a very real Naxal threat. There are many people on the Far Left who feel the “marginalised” (Dalits, tribals, Muslims) don’t have a sufficient voice in the Indian system.

I don’t agree with this view. But it is a view sincerely held by many on the far-left, some of whom don’t mind resorting to violence to subvert the Indian state

Stress 2 : There exists a very real stress emanating from the popular base of the Hindu Right.

These are sincere, well meaning men and women who are rooted in tradition and the Hindu way of life.

Their stance is that the current Indian state is moored in “Western” principles to which they cannot relate. They feel the Indian state is insufficiently HIndu. It doesn’t recognize the centrality of Hinduism to the Indian way of life

Indian languages as well as several aspects of Indian culture are being sidelined by English and other forces of “Westernization”. Our temples are not controlled by traditional religious elites (whom the people respect), but instead controlled by bureaucrats and politicians

Our sites of pilgrimage and places associated with the nativity of our Gods (Mathura, Ayodhya) are second rate towns not enjoying the stature they deserve. There’s more I can write (given my own sympathies with this wing) but I guess I’ll stop as you get the drift

Stress 3 : The third stress is lingual / geographic in nature. It originates from the peripheries of the country - the regions that feel their distinctive “culture” is not represented properly in the national discourse

The regions particularly vulnerable to this stress are the states of the North East and to a lesser extent the Southern states. There is a considerable popular opinion in these regions whose rhetoric is primarily regional and insufficiently nationalistic.

There is talk of Tamil pride, Keralite exceptionalism, and even more severe forms of isolationist, exceptionalist rhetoric in the North East.

These regions feel the dominant culture of India is that of the Hindi heartland.

It is the culture that dominates the national airwaves, and dominates showbiz. Cultures distant from this heartland don’t enjoy the same degree of pre-eminence that Hindi enjoys.

Now these are three completely orthogonal stresses. And they may often overlap. Eg : A devout Tamilian Hindu in Madurai may be susceptible to both Stress 2 and Stress 3

A Tamil Muslim / Dalit may be susceptible to both Stress 1 and Stress 3.

A Hindu brahmin from UP may be very susceptible to Stress 2 but not Stress 1 and Stress 3.

So these stresses overlap, interact and often impact the same individuals. They are not impacting three mutually exclusive sections of society, but represent three heavily overlapping circles.

So now what do we do about these stresses?

Do we just keep quiet and continue with status-quo (as is the case today)? Do we resort to authoritarian rule (of either left-wing or right wing variety)? Do we downplay these stresses?

Sticking to status-quo and countering the stresses with a smile is actually not the worst option. We have done that for 70 years, and it may continue to hold these stresses at bay

But a more proactive approach is to re-engineer some aspects of our Constitution that can alleviate each of the three stresses

So how does the Indian federal structure work today?

We have two houses.

A popularly elected lower house - Lok Sabha (where seats are allocated to each state based on their populations)

We have an upper house - Rajya Sabha.

A somewhat inchoate chamber, whose members are elected by state legislatures for the most part.

It is a house of politicians elected by other politicians. Strange

Now I have a rather bold, and somewhat provocative suggestion to make -

A Tri-cameral legislature

A legislature of 3 chambers that will be designed to counter the three stresses we talked about

Chamber 1 : Will remain the Lok Sabha. This will be a popularly elected chamber, with seats allocated to each state based on its population. So UP will still have 80 seats, Tamil Nadu 40, and Delhi just 8

Chamber 2 : Will be the Indian Senate. Let’s call it the Prabandhak Mandal.

This Sabha will be designed to quell Stress 3 and to a lesser extent Stress 1.

It will comprise of 87 seats only - 3 per state, and there are 29 states

Each state will elect 3 senators to this Sabha, REGARDLESS of its population. So Nagaland will have 3 senators (prabandhaks) and so will UP. Every state is equal here

The other great thing about this Sabha is that it will encourage strong state leaders to emerge, who will command the respect of the state as a whole.

Leaders who will need to speak to the state as a whole to get elected, and not merely their constituency.

Today we have a dearth of good mass leaders in our country. We have a Narendra Modi, and we have the odd Yogi Nath, or Yediyurappa. But the supply sucks. This Sabha will greatly enhance the stature of state politicians and be a breeding ground for future premiers

Chamber 2 will give the subalterns a better chance than Chamber 1, as they don’t have to quibble about constituency level prejudices / caste equations holding them back

It will also quell Stress 3 very well. The states that are culturally distant from the popular hindi heartland will no longer have reason to complain

Now let’s come to Stress 2 (the dissatisfaction of the Hindu base with the idea of India). How do we handle it.

I suggest Chamber 3 - which I prefer to call “Pradhan Sabha”

The Pradhan Sabha will be unabashedly elitist. And unabashedly traditionalist / Hindu.

Let’s think of it as a 100 member body.

A third of it can be avowed Hindu traditionalists / priests.

Another third of them will be princes / princesses from erstwhile princely states.

And the last third can be the captains of Industry / big business

The electorate for each of these thirds can come from their respective constituencies.

Alternatively there can be a common electorate with property / educational qualifications to give the house a middle-class orientation

This body will represent Hindu and business interests in an unqualified way.

And will be well placed to push those items that concern middle India - concerns that get lost today in the melee of populist politics, which tends to ignore the middle class, and Hindu conservatism

Such a tri-cameral structure will in my view quell all the 3 stresses faced by India today, and will position us well for the rest of what remains of the 21st century

These are radical proposals. But the model suggested is not exactly Martian.

Chamber 2 is modeled on the American Senate that has 100 members - 2 per state. Chamber 3 is partly modeled on the British House of Lord's (which to this day has a section comprised of hereditary peers)